Page 95 of Silence and Surrender

And for now, that was everything.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Colton

I found Cooper and Steele in the wine cellar, surrounded by dusty bottles and memories. They were sampling a vintage bottle Cooper had uncovered in the cellar, their heads bent together like old times. Some things never changed, even if everything else had.

“Don’t you two have legitimate businesses to run?” I leaned against a barrel, accepting the glass Cooper offered.

“Some would argue this is legitimate business.” My brother’s grin held echoes of his wilder days. “Quality control.”

“Very legitimate,” Steele agreed, though his eyes held that calculating edge I remembered from when he and Cooper had worked together. Before they’d both chosen different paths. Better paths. “Almost as legitimate as corporate law.”

I caught his meaning. We were all playing roles now—the respectable vintner, the entrepreneur, the bank’s chief counsel.

“Speaking of legitimate,” Cooper swirled his wine thoughtfully, “did you ever think we’d end up here? You with a baby on the way, me making honest wine...”

“You? Honest?” I couldn’t help but give him a rough time. “The man who once convinced the Louvre their security was impenetrable just to prove it wasn’t?”

“That was Steele’s plan,” Cooper protested. “I just provided...creative assistance.”

Steele chuckled, the sound echoing off stone walls. “As I recall, your ‘creative assistance’ involved seducing the head of security’s daughter.”

“Wife,” Cooper corrected. “And it worked, didn’t it?”

I watched them banter, these men who had once moved through shadows with deadly grace. Now Cooper grew grapes and doted on his daughter. Steele had traded heists for his restaurants, clubs and hotels, with a family of his own.

“Do you ever miss it?” I asked suddenly. “The old life?”

Cooper’s expression turned thoughtful. “Sometimes. The thrill of it. The challenge.” He smiled slightly. “But then Clara runs in with some new drawing, or Allegra looks at me like I’m worth a damn...and I don’t miss it at all.”

“The work was never the point,” Steele added quietly. “It was about proving something. To ourselves, to the world...” He trailed off, his eyes distant. “Now I have Ashlynn and Ember. A son on the way. Better things to prove.”

“And better ways to prove them,” I agreed, thinking of Isabella sleeping upstairs. Of our child growing within her. Of all the legitimate battles still ahead.

Cooper refilled our glasses. “Remember that job in Morocco? When everything went wrong and we ended up hiding in that spice merchant’s basement?”

“Three days,” Steele groaned. “My sinuses never recovered.”

“But we got out.” Cooper’s voice held meaning. “We always got out.”

“This is different,” I said, understanding his implication. “The bank isn’t some mark you can con. The stakes are higher.”

“The stakes were always high.” Steele set his glass down. “But now we have more to lose. And more to fight for.”

“That’s what worries me.” I studied the wine in my glass, thinking of Isabella’s determination to return to London. “Before, it was just us taking the risks. Now...”

“Now we have families to protect,” Cooper finished. “Which is exactly why we have to end this. All of it.”

Steele nodded slowly. “The bank, the trafficking, the whole network. We take it down properly. Legally, if we can.”

“Since when do you care about legal?” Cooper smirked.

“Since my daughter started asking questions about what I do.” Steele’s voice was quiet. “Since I realized I want my son to be proud of his father’s name.”

I understood that. The weight of legacy, of what we’d leave our children. The need to make the world better for them, not just safer.

“Looking at this place now,” I gestured at our surroundings, “it’s hard to believe how far it’s come. From helping you with the legal battle to help Allegra reclaim the property to...this.”

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